Image © Lisa S/Shutterstock
The charity Carers UK will today present the findings of its landmark report into the issue of carers allowance overpayments to Stephen Timms, the new Minister for Social Security and Disability at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Having campaigned on the issue of the earnings cliff edge for over five years, Carers UK said: “Action is urgently required to prevent carers from experiencing the financial hardship and ill-health that repaying overpayments can cause. It is the length of time and therefore the large size of the overpayments that make the debts particularly difficult to repay.”
The charity revealed that nearly 140 carers responded to a call to share their experiences, with a further 121 carers providing information about their experiences, with many saying that “it had taken them years to pay back the debt or that they were still repaying it.”
Lack of clarity over the rules should be addressed, the report stated, saying: “The cliff edge on earnings and the complexity of the benefit rules mean that carers can unwittingly go over the limit and quickly build up substantial debts that must be repaid to the Department for Work and Pensions, even from very small changes to their earnings.”
The findings also suggest that the majority of those carers who have breached the limit and been forced to repay back benefits were “unaware that they had gone over the earnings limit until they received notification of the overpayment, or had their benefit suspended – sometimes years later after they had been overpaid.”
The report revealed the lengths to which carers go in order to avoid breaching the existing earnings limits. These include leaving jobs, reducing working hours; turning down pay rises, one-off cost of living payments and performance bonuses. Some even report working a number of hours for free each month.
As to potential remedies, Carers UK said “63% of carers sharing their experiences said the DWP should make improvements to processes notifying claimants about earnings increases and potential overpayments. 75% said raising the earnings limit to at least 21 hours and pegging it to the National Living Wage would enable them to combine work and care more easily.”
“It is heart-breaking to hear of instances where thousands of pounds of debts have been accumulated,” said Helen Walker, chief executive of Carers UK. “This has been going on for years and not enough has been done by the government to fundamentally change the situation. It simply cannot continue.
“Up to 600 carers leave paid work every day,” she continued. “Many carers have told us they have left their employment as a result of receiving an overpayment and many more have had to cut back on their hours and turn down pay rises due to the earnings limit and the fear of getting another overpayment.
“We should be supporting and encouraging as many carers as possible to continue with their paid work alongside their caring role, where they are able to do so. Carers UK will continue to campaign for wider reform and review of Carer’s Allowance, bringing carers’ voices and experiences directly to decision makers and officials to call for urgent and lasting change.”
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Sir Stephen Timms said: “Our country would grind to a halt without the millions of carers who provide care and continuity of support for vulnerable people every day.
“We recognise the challenges they are facing and we are determined to provide unpaid carers with the support they deserve.”
